Author: Oleksiy Melnyk

This is the second survey aimed at assessing public opinion about possible outside influences on Ukraine’s 2019 presidential elections. The survey asked participants to say how strong that influence, if any, would be and of what quality: positive or negative. Comparing the two surveys conducted over a period of three months (the first before...

The survey was conducted by the Razumkov Centre’s Sociological Service in cooperation with the Democratic Initiatives Foundation from March 1-6, 2019. The sample consisted of 2,019 respondents aged 18 and over, in all regions of Ukraine except Crimea and occupied areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The sampling error does not exceed 2.3...

On February 7, 2019, Ukraine’s parliament introduced legislative amendments to ban citizens of the Russian Federation from acting as official observers in Ukraine’s elections. While the ban drew criticism (mostly from Russia), the Kremlin’s interference efforts in Ukraine’s election thus far create the distinct possibility that Russian observers in Ukraine may likely be Kremlin...

The war with Russia has shaped Ukraine’s internal politics for the last five years. Needless to say, this issue will guide in one way or another how Ukrainians vote as they weigh who among the presidential candidates can best stop or win the war in the east. Observers often formulate their answers to this...

This survey was conducted by the Razumkov Centre’s Sociological Service in cooperation with the Democratic Initiatives Foundation from December 19-25, 2018. The sample consists of 2,017 respondents aged 18 and over, in all regions of Ukraine except Crimea and occupied areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The sampling error does not exceed 2.3...

On January 22, 2019, the Information Resistance group published photos of chemical containers “made in Ukraine” found in Syria. It seems to be another episode of the Kremlin’s efforts to undermine Ukraine’s international image in the lead-up to the elections by accusing Ukraine of violating international norms and non-proliferation regimes. There were numerous allegations...

On January 15-16, a court in Moscow, ordered all twenty-four Ukrainian sailors detained by Russia following the standoff in the Kerch Strait to be held in pre-trial detention until April 24, 2019. With this and other ongoing investigations, it appears that the Kremlin is using its judicial system as an instrument of hybrid warfare,...

In his radio interview on December 17, 2018, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused President Poroshenko of preparing a military provocation on the border with Crimea by year’s end and has threatened Poroshenko with a tough response from the Russian side. Paradoxically, it seems that Lavrov may have set the time and place for Russia’s...

President Vladimir Putin said that the conflict in eastern Ukraine would continue “as long as the current authorities remain in power.” Putin’s message is a clear signal of his intent to prolong armed conflict in illegally occupied territories in eastern Ukraine if he is not pleased with the results of Ukraine’s 2019 presidential and parliamentary...